Elasmotherium
'Elasmotherium' (name meaning "''Thin Plate Beast"), often nicknamed the Big-Horned Rhinoceros, is a genus of large rhinoceros that originated during the Late Pliocene epoch in what is now Asia. Measuring more than 5 meters long and weighing up to 5 tons, this prehistoric, Ice Age Woolly Rhinoceros is famous for its large, 2 meter-long horn on its head. In the Series 3 finale, "Mammoth's Undertaking Journey", a single male Elasmotherium was brought back to the park from Siberia of 150 thousand years ago. Facts Era & Discovery Elasmotherium lived during the Late Pliocene epoch, over 2 million years ago. Around 26,000 years ago during the Late Pleistocene, the Elasmotherium became extinct when the climates got warmer and their natural habitats disappeared. Elasmotherium received its name from Johann Fischer von Waldheim, the Dirécteur Perpétuel of the Natural History Museum, Moscow University, at a presentation before the Societé Impériale des Naturalistes in 1808. Physical Attributes The largest of all the prehistoric rhinoceroses during the Pleistocene epoch, Elasmotherium reached up to at least 16 feet (5 m) long in body length with shoulder heights over 6 feet (2 m) and an estimated weight of 5–6 tons (10,000–12,000 lbs.) based on isolated molars that significantly exceed those known from the Siberian species, making Elasmotherium was among the largest in the rhino family, comparable in size to a Woolly Mammoth and larger than the contemporary woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta. Elasmotherium was twice the size of a modern white rhinoceros and had a massive, fatty hump on its back. Elasmotherium was the size of an African elephant and bore a large, thick horn on its forehead which was used for defense, attracting mates, driving away predators, sweeping snow from the grass in winter, and digging for water and plant roots. The single horn itself was slightly curved, and could grow to be over 6 feet (2 m) long, taller than a man, and is also known to be durable. Like all rhinos, Elasmotherium was herbivorous. Unlike many others, its high-crowned molars were ever-growing. Despite its bulk and fatty hump, its legs were longer and more slender than those of other rhinoceros and were designed for better galloping and charging, giving it a zebra-like gait. The feet were unguligrade, the front larger than the rear, with 4 digits at the front and 3 at the rear. Its entire body was covered in brown hair, save for its face, feet, and horn. Like other rhinoceroses, Elasmotherium had very poor eyesight, but a highly developed sense of smell. This means it could not see other animals unless they were very close by, or directly upwind from the Elasmotherium. Behavior & Traits A solitary animal, Elasmotherium was highly territorial and had no reservations about charging at perceived threats and impaling them with its horn. Despite this, it was not totally fearless and would back down from larger bull Woolly Mammoths. Elasmotherium, like a Mammoth, was exclusively a grazer, feeding on the diverse taiga, mammoth steppe, and grasslands of Ice Age Siberia. However, it evidently fed on different types of grasses to mammoths, probably due to the fact that it grazed at higher altitudes. For all its size, bulk and presumed aggressiveness, though, Elasmotherium was still a relatively gentle herbivore--and one well-adapted to eating grass rather than leaves or shrubs, as evidenced by its almost comically heavy, oversized, flat teeth and lack of incisors. However, when startled or provoked, they would charge. Journal Entry Gallery 1000px-ElasmotheriumPortrait.jpg Rhino___.jpg Elasmotherium-1-.jpg Trivia *''Elasmotherium'' is the second largest prehistoric rhino brought to the park. **Additionally, while it was not indeed the largest prehistoric rhinoceros in general, of all the prehistoric rhinos that had the same overall physical appearance of modern-day rhinos, Elasmotherium was the largest. *The sound effects of Elasmotherium are that of typical rhinos as well as a mix of bull, cow, walrus, camel, and moose sounds. Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Rhinos Category:Mammals Category:Pleistocene Animals Category:Pleistocene Mammals Category:Beasts (Life After Dinosaurs) Category:Herbivores